LIBERAL, Kansas — A heavy presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has swept through southwest Kansas, causing schools to warn that some students may have family members detained and leading a major meat packing plant to partially delay shifts on Wednesday.
The towns of Liberal, Garden City and Dodge City house four major beef packing plants, employing over 10,000 residents — many of whom are immigrants.
City officials and immigration advocates witnessed multiple unmarked vans parked on roads near the processing facilities Tuesday, stopping people going to and from work.
“I personally witnessed three arrests, then five to six other people being pulled over throughout the day,” Immigrant advocate Kathleen Alonso told the Kansas News Service.
She works for New Frontiers, a voting rights organization. She spent her day following ICE agents and helping educate family members of those detained.
A message sent from Dodge City Public Schools asked families to update contact information and alert the district if people not on a student’s emergency contact list would need to pick up children.
A family provided the message to the Kansas News Service.
“We may have students whose family members have been detained,” the message read, “please help us keep our students safe and cared for.”
The message also asked people to alert the district if children now had no one to care for them.
The National Beef plant in Liberal sent a message alerting employees to altered starting times or telling them to contact a supervisor to confirm schedules.
This region has a large immigrant population that is vital to the agriculture sector. Some estimates say about 17% of residents in towns like Liberal do not have citizenship. It’s common in this area to know someone who lives in a mixed-status household.
Alonso said in the rural communities many people are scared. She’s been sharing information with residents.
“The biggest thing is making sure that people understand and know their rights. I think just avoiding unnecessary travel if you're able to at all,” Alonso said.
Federal agents started detaining people around 5 a.m. Tuesday in Liberal according to city officials.
Photos and videos posted on social media appear to show men identified as ICE agents with masks covering their faces stopping cars and questioning passengers. Some people in the posts are wearing hardhats required for workers at the local packing plants.
Jose Lara is a city commissioner in Liberal. He said he witnessed several residents detained.
“The biggest thing that we've seen is they are stopping people at random,” Lara said in an interview. “We do know they also plan to do some events at the meatpacking plant. I'm not sure what that entails completely.”
Lara believes that the federal agent's presence will remain throughout the week.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that “ICE officers are out every day enforcing federal immigration law passed by Congress.”
They did not comment on whether meatpacking plants were being targeted. But they pointed to a site where Individuals in ICE custody can be found.
In Liberal, county buildings like the courthouse were being used as an anchor point for the federal agents. In Garden City, there were reports of the 4-H grounds being used.
In Dodge City, the Western State Bank Expo was being used by agents. According to a press release from the facility, upon learning this, staff asked the federal agents to leave.
The Finney County Sheriff’s Office has a 287(g) agreement with ICE. This allows immigration officers to execute administrative warrants in the county’s custody.
But Sheriff Steven Martinez in Finney County said that despite being listed on ICE’s website, they are not enrolled in any programs.
“We are in no way assisting with any law enforcement actions,” Martinez told the Kansas News Service.
Martinez said that they put a temporary hold for 72 hours on undocumented immigrants who have committed a crime, and ICE agents regularly come to pick them up.
The Seward County Sheriff’s Office did not return a call for comment.
Calen Moore covers western Kansas for High Plains Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can email him at cmoore@hppr.org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio.
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